Just one and a half year after FISH and four other NGOs launched the OCEAN2012 coalition dedicated to wrestling EU fisheries into a more sustainable direction, the membership has passed 100 organisations.
Natuurpunt, the largest Belgian NGO working on the protection of nature, was the 100th organisation to join the coalition, with Kalipso of Mauritius beaten to the punch as a close 101th.
The five founding members Seas at Risk, the Pew Environment Group, Coalition for Fisheries Arrangements, new economics foundation and the Fisheries Secretariat, launched OCEAN2012 officially in Brussels on 8 June 2009, World Ocean Day. Its stated aim is to stop overfishing, end destructive fishing practices and deliver fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks.